Firefighters worked for close to an hour to bring a two-alarm fire under control in a Columbia apartment building Friday.
Smoke already visible to Howard County firefighters as they responded to the 11300 block of Little Patuxent Parkway around 1:30 p.m. Initial calls reported occupants trapped.
As units arrived, fire had already burned through the roof of the three-story building.
"Residents told the first arriving units that the woman and child who were originally thought to be trapped had been able to exit the building prior to the fire department's arrival," the fire department said.
A second alarm was immediately to help search the more than 20 apartments.
Around 60 firefighters battled the blaze for 45 minutes.
Paramedics transported two patients to Howard County General Hospital for smoke inhalation and chest pain.
